Gifts: Uktena
The Uktena Gifts Spirits in service to or allied with a tribe's totem teach Tribal Gifts. Some tribes' Gifts haven't changed in centuries, while others (such as the Glass Walkers) regularly reinvent their relationship with the spirits. Learning a Gift from another tribe usually requires the Garou to be on good terms with at least one member of the tribe (generally a packmate) who can summon the appropriate spirit. Even then, the Garou must convince the spirit she is worthy of its blessings, and that she won't turn them against its tribal allies. Some Garou are extremely touchy about outsiders learning their tribal blessings, while others believe the practice strengthens the Garou Nation as a whole in its war against the Wyrm. Uktena Gifts reflect the tribe's predilection toward magical study and animal powers. Many of their Gifts were long-forgotten secrets, recently unearthed as the fight for Gaia grows more desperate. Rank 1 Sense Magic The werewolf can sense the pulse and flux of mystic energies, whether the righteous Gifts of the Garou, the arrogant wizardry of mages, the debased powers of vampires, or even the black arts of the Wyrm's minions. A spirit-servant of Uktena teaches this Gift. System: The player rolls Perception + Enigmas. The difficulty is based on the strength and subtlety of the magic. The Uktena cannot tell the exact nature of the magic, although clues such as "Gaian," "dreamcraft," or "blood magic" might be granted with three or more successes. The radius is 20 feet per success. Sense Wyrm The werewolf can sense nearby manifestations of the Wyrm. This Gift involves a mystical sense, not a visual or olfactory image, although Garou often describe the Wyrm's spiritual emanations as a stench. This Gift doesn't necessarily sense dedication to the Wyrm, merely contact with its spiritual essence, which can cling to even blameless souls. Sense Wyrm requires active concentration; the spiritual sense it provides doesn't function passively. The Gift may be taught by any Gaian spirit. System: The player rolls Perception + Occult. The difficulty depends on the concentration and strength of the Wyrm's influence: Sensing a single fomor in the next room would be difficulty 6, while detecting the stench of a Bane that was in the room an hour ago would be difficulty 7. Vampires register as Wyrm-tainted, save those with Humanity ratings of 7 or higher. Shroud The Uktena can create a field of inky blackness through which only she can see. A night-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty varies: 3 for twilight, 6 indoors, 9 for bright sunlight). Each success blacks out a 10' by 10' by 10' area within the Garou's line of sight. Powers which permit sight in total darkness are capable of defeating this Gift. Spirit of the Lizard The werewolf's hands and feet spout hundreds of tiny hooks, allowing her to climb across or cling to any surface ' even sheer horizontal surfaces and ceilings. A gecko-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis. For the rest of the scene, the character can move across any solid surface at her normal walking speed. Staying attached to a vertical surface or ceiling while taking any more strenuous movement (fighting, moving faster than walking speed, attempting to dislodge a steam grate) requires a reflexive Stamina + Athletics roll, difficulty 7). Spirit Speech This Gift bestows understanding of the language of the spirit world, permitting the Garou to clearly understand and speak with any spirit he encounters. The Gift doesn't influence spirits' attitudes toward the werewolf in any way, nor ensure that they have any desire to communicate with him. Any spirit can teach it. System: This Gift's effects are permanent. Rank 2 Coils of the Serpent The Uktena calls forth dark tentacles of mist or fog that wrap around enemies and hold them in a viselike grip. Each coil is 30 feet long and possesses the same Physical characteristics as the werewolf who summons them. A snake-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player rolls Dexterity + Occult, difficulty 7. Each success causes a single coil to emerge from the air at a point within 100 feet (30 m) of the Uktena. The player must use a turn's concentration and a Dexterity + Brawl roll to aim the tentacles. The coils focus on a single target, unless the player makes attack rolls against multiple targets, with the normal penalties for multiple actions. The coils only bind; they can't inflict damage. To break free, the victim must make a Strength roll, difficulty 7; if his successes exceed the number of coils entangling him, he struggles free. The tentacles last until the end of the scene or until dismissed, whichever is sooner. Fetish Fetch The Uktena need not carry her fetishes with her. She may draw them from a hidden cache whenever she needs them, no matter the distance, and return them just as easily. A packrat-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The first part of the Gift involves creating the secret hiding spot for the fetishes. The player spends one Gnosis and buries or covers her items. Once this ritual is complete, she need only spend a Gnosis point to summon any or all of her fetishes, or to return them to their hiding place. The fetish appears in her hand as if from thin air. Only one hiding spot can exist at a time, but the Uktena can replace it with a new one whenever she wishes. Shadows at Dawn Sometimes, one must give information to get information. However, Uktena are notoriously tightfisted with secrets. With this Gift, the werewolf can share a bit of knowledge that later vanishes from the subject's memory. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift. System: After relating a bit of lore, the player rolls Wits + Subterfuge (difficulty of the opponent's Wits + Subterfuge). If the roll succeeds, whatever information the Uktena imparted completely vanishes from the target's memory when the sun next rises. Spirit of the Bird Few enemies would expect a werewolf to attack from above ' an excellent reason to do so, in the eyes of the Uktena. The Garou using this gift may hover, fly, or float. Any bird spirit can teach this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point, and with an audible rush of mighty-but-unseen wings, the character takes to the air. The Garou can fly at 20 mph and hover as she desires. The difficulties of all combat maneuvers increase by one. This Gift lasts for one hour. Spirit of the Fish The werewolf can breathe underwater and swim as fast as he can run in Hispo form. Any fish-spirit can teach this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Stamina + Animal Ken (difficulty 7). The effect lasts one hour per success. Rank 3 Banish Totem By speaking words of forbiddance, the Uktena can bar pack or personal totems from giving their children aid. Doing so also disrupts the spiritual rapport between packmates, making it difficult for them to execute pack tactics or act in concert. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The Uktena must concentrate for a full turn, and he must know which totem his victims follow. The player spends one Gnosis point and one Willpower point, and he rolls Gnosis at a difficulty of the pack's combined Totem score (maximum of 10). If successful, members of the targeted pack lose all Traits associated with their totem, and they cannot use pack tactics or act in concert for the remainder of the scene. If the Uktena is rendered unconscious or killed, the Gift is canceled. Chains of Mist Silvery filaments spin out from the Garou's claws, becoming streamers of mist that enwrap and confound nearby spirits, sapping their strength. A fog-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The Uktena concentrates for a turn; and the player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Dexterity + Enigmas (difficulty 7). One spirit of the player's choice within 200 feet (60 m) is affected per success. Spirits struck by this Gift treat their Rage, Gnosis, and Willpower ratings as though they were one lower than they truly are for the purpose of all dice rolls for the rest of the scene. Invisibility The Garou can vanish from sight, though she must concentrate to maintain her invisibility. She can't move faster than half normal walking speed, and can't draw attention to herself. A spirit-servant of Uktena teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Intelligence + Occult (difficulty varies: 4 if already concealed, 6 if in the open, 9 in plain sight). Anyone looking for the Garou must score more successes on a Perception + Alertness roll (difficulty 8) than the player did on the initial roll. Anyone not actively seeking the Garou will not spot her at all. Rending the Craft The werewolf's claws burn with mystic force, rending apart the delicate workings of magic. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift. System: After the werewolf makes a successful claw attack, the player may spend a point of Willpower to end the effects of any ongoing magical power enhancing the target (such as the Gift: Razor Claws, or the Armor Charm). Permanent magical effects cannot be rent asunder by this Gift, nor powers that are innate to the nature of the target. For example, a werewolf's Gifts could be cancelled, but not her ability to shapeshift; a vampire's Disciplines could be disrupted, but not her immortality or her ability to spend blood to raise her Attributes. In the event that a magical effect mixes permanent and temporary elements, the permanent elements are retained while transitory elements are disabled. For example, a vampire's Potence would continue to passively grant extra Strength dice, but blood could not be spent to transform those dice into automatic successes. Scrying The Uktena may view events elsewhere by staring into a reflective surface. Many supernatural beings, particularly those capable of scrying themselves, know defenses against this Gift. A fly-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis and rolls Perception + Occult (difficulty 10 unless the Uktena possesses an item belonging to the person or place being viewed, in which case the difficulty is 8). The Uktena may view everything that happens in that area for the rest of the scene. Rank 4 Call Elemental The Garou is able to call one of the four classic elementals to his aid (earth, air, fire or water). An elemental teaches this Gift. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Gnosis (difficulty is equal to the area's Gauntlet). She must then roll Manipulation + Occult (difficulty 7) to make the summoned elemental amenable to helping her. The elemental vanishes at the end of the scene. Durance The werewolf dominates a talen-bound spirit, spinning webs of metaphysical authority to forcibly lengthen its service to her. Some consider this Gift disrespectful, but the Shadow Lords find it ridiculous to discard a weapon that might serve Gaia, just for the sake of politeness. This Gift is taught by a spider-spirit. System: Upon using a talen, the player may reflexively spend one Gnosis point to keep the spirit bound within from departing. This Gift is ineffective on talens which are destroyed as an inherent aspect of their use (such as the nightshade talen, which must be drunk to activate its powers), but preserves talens whose destruction is a metaphysical result of their use (such as moon glow and Wyrm scales). Hand of the Earth Lords By drawing on the land's energies, the Uktena can move any one object weighing up to 2,000 pounds (900 kg) simply by gesturing at it. An air elemental and an earth elemental must teach this Gift in concert. System: The player spends one Gnosis point and rolls Dexterity + Occult (difficulty 7). Concentration is necessary to move the object, which travels at roughly 20 mph (32 kph). The Garou's control lasts for one turn per success. Rank 5 Fabric of the Mind The greatest Uktena can bring the products of their imagination to life, crafting creatures from the essence of dreams. Chimerlings teach this Gift. System: The player makes an extended Intelligence + Performance roll (difficulty 8). She can create any form of life she can imagine, assigning it one dot of Traits for each success gained on the roll. The werewolf can take as long as she wants to form the creature, accumulating successes from turn to turn, but once she stops, the dream-being takes form and requires one Gnosis point per scene to keep it manifested. Fetish Doll Sympathetic magic is among the oldest principles of sorcery ' possibly the oldest ' and still as effective as it ever was. The Garou can harm his victims from afar using a specially-created doll. He must have a piece of his victim or an object belonging to him, and he must then construct the doll to incorporate the prize. An ancestor-spirit teaches this Gift. System: The doll takes one week to construct and enchant. The player rolls Perception + Crafts (difficulty 8) to do so. When the doll is complete, the player may roll Intelligence + Medicine (difficulty is equal to the victim's Willpower). Each success inflicts one level of aggravated damage on the victim, soakable if the victim is capable of doing so. After 10 successes, the doll is too mutilated to be of further use.